First Watch
by Relm Wanderer
Summary: It's not always good to have Gourry stand watch. Older story, GS with with a bit of LZ too.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Notes: This story one of my older ones on my Gourry/Sylphiel Shrine. Naturally it's Gourry/Sylphiel but it's got some Lina/Zel in it too. Probably a little more mushier than my current works so expect some degree of OOCness. _

**First Watch**

Part One

By Relm

Gourry sat in front of the fire trying his best to stay alert. It was his watch and everyone else was asleep. He was supposed to stay awake to keep watch for any possible danger.

'Got to stay awake. Can't fall asleep, Lina will kill me. Got to stay awake. Can't sleep after what happened last time.'

The last time Gourry had stood watch not only did he not wake Zelgadis for the last watch, but Gourry had fallen into such a deep sleep that he didn't wake up to anything that happened around him. Even though the group of thieves that stalked in and stole their money AND their food while they had been sleeping. Lina hadn't been happy the next day, not at all.

But the foursome could only stand Amelia's whining about being tired for so long. They had to let her sleep a full night's rest. So that left them having to have Gourry take one the watches.

They had decided that Gourry would take first watch, Zelgadis second and Lina would take the last one. That way Gourry would be the least likely to fall asleep on his watch since he wouldn't be interrupted for a watch during his sleep. All he had to do was stay awake till it was time for Zelgadis to take over. Shouldn't have been that hard right?

Gourry fought with himself as he waged the battle of consciousness and sleep. His eyes lids felt heavy and his head kept drooping. He was constantly snapping his head up in his efforts to stay awake.

'Got to do something to keep me awake.' Gourry thought as he looked around. Amelia was sleeping soundly with a slight smile tugging her lips in the state of a nice dream. Zelgadis slept much like you'd expect him to given on how he acts most days, emotionless. The only notable thing was that somehow he had ended up sleeping with his face towards Lina's face, which was only mere inches away. That was most likely Lina's fault since she had been moving around constantly in her sleeping state. At the moment though she was curled up in a ball like a cat. This didn't help Gourry but make him sleepier.

'I want to sleep too!' He lifted his tired head to look for something to do. His eyes caught sight of a quill and a stack of paper lying not too far away from Amelia. He picked up the stack of paper and briefly looked over the printed pages. 'Amelia's newest justice speeches!' Gourry made a sour face. 'This will probably make me sleepier!'

He put the paper back where he put it but then an idea came to mind. 'Amelia won't mind if I borrow some of these.' Gourry took a few pieces of paper and Amelia's quill.

Maybe it was because he was tired and not thinking straight but Gourry had the sudden urge to write. He had never written anything in his life! Well no he had written things before he could read and write after all, but he never wrote a story before in his life.

'How do you start off these things? Oh yeah _Once upon a time…_'

Gourry started to write a story about a raven-haired emerald green-eyed princess who had been kidnapped by an evil monster who wanted her kingdom and her riches as well as her as his wife. There was a blond prince, another princess, two royal knights and an ill-tempered priestess in the story. It was almost as if the story was coming to life on its own on the paper, it took very little effort for Gourry to write the words. They just seemed to flow so well as if writing was second nature to him. He hadn't noticed but somehow he ended up using most of Amelia's spare paper to write his little fairy tale.

'This is pretty good!' Gourry thought to himself proudly as he looked over his masterpiece. 'And this is fun too!' He gleefully as he continued to write.

Unfortunately thinking and concentrating so hard took a toll on Gourry. He had no idea how long he had been writing but all he knew was that he wanted to finish his story before his watch was over. But the clutches of sleep took him as he finished printing _the end_ at the bottom. His head clunked loudly as it hit the ground hard and Gourry began to snore very loudly.

...

The same group of thieves which had stolen from Lina and company almost a week before watched as the blond swordsmen fall asleep.

"Man those guys must be pretty dumb to let him take watch… again." One of the thieves sneered.

The others chorused in laughter and their leader shut them up. "Do you want to wake them?!"

When no one answered the leader he motioned for them to go and plunder.

Being as quite as they could they looted the campsite of any treasure and food they could get their hands on.

One of the thieves took interest in what Gourry had been writing. "Hey this is pretty good." The thief commented in a whisper.

This pissed off the leader. "Put that thing down and shut up! Do you want to wake her up?!" The leader hissed pointing towards Lina. Yes they are all knew of her reputation. But it looked a bit funny since the women in question was at the moment snuggling up an unaware chimera.

...

Lina opened her eyes slowly as she woke up. The sunshine wasn't kind to her eyes so it caused her to shut them as soon as she opened them. 'Damn sun! Wait a minute I supposed to take last watch!' Lina got up with a start on his revelation but only to be slightly pulled downwards by something latched onto her. Lina blinked at what or rather whose arms she was tangled in.

Zelgadis woke up at that exact moment.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Lina screamed recoiling away from Zelgadis with a fireball ready. She would have sent it flying at him if she hadn't noticed one simple thing. Their campsite had been ransacked, most of their money was gone and their food supplies where nowhere to be seen. What she did see was Gourry slumbering peacefully on the ground. "GOURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYY!"


	2. Chapter 2

**First Watch**

Part Two

By Relm

Lina really wanted to kill Gourry. She had almost gotten close to it, but Zelgadis and Amelia managed to stop her.

Of course Gourry didn't help matters either. The first thing he did once he realized that their camp was ransacked was to freak out about where his fairy tale was. He didn't care about the loss of money and food, all he cared about whether his story was okay.

"What the hell is so special about that damned story anyway?!" Lina screamed as Amelia and Zelgadis held her back.

Gourry wasn't listening, he was cradling his masterpiece. He was so proud of his story. It was the first thing he had ever written before. It made him feel like he was actually not as stupid as everyone said he was. True he knew he wasn't as smart as other people, but deep down it did bother him a bit. He did try, really he did to pay attention and understand things like everyone else. But Gourry's problem wasn't really a comprehension problem, but an attention span problem. For him to actually sit down and finish writing a whole story was an amazing feat for him. So he rolled up his paper treasure and tucked it away in his bag. "So what's for breakfast?" Gourry asked with a big bright smile.

This time Zelgadis and Amelia couldn't hold Lina back.

...

Zelgadis let out a heavy sigh as he sat around the campfire during his watch while everyone slept. He didn't really want to be standing watch or camping out, but they were left with little choice. After losing all their treasure and money Lina and company couldn't afford to get rooms at an inn. So even though they were in the shadow of the nearby town they were stuck sleeping under the stars.

It's not that Zelgadis hated camping out. It was fine when you weren't near a town. But they were near a town and the allure of a soft comfortable bed always trumps the hard ground under your feet.

So Zelgadis sat idly poking the fire as he had first watch. They had decided since Gourry couldn't stay awake during his watch the previous day that the watch orders were going to be as, first Zelgadis, second Lina and third Amelia.

A slight breeze blew by blowing a couple leafs through the camp, the most interesting thing Zelgadis saw the whole night. He didn't know why, but Zelgadis was particularly bored this evening. He didn't have any new books to read or any new spells to work on.

'What a boring night.' Zelgadis spied a look his hourglass, the sands had barely begun to fall. 'Still a lot of time to go. What am I going to do to pass the time?' His eyes bounced back and forth between Lina, Amelia and Gourry as they slept. Lina was sprawled out with her limbs going in every which direction, Amelia was curled into a small ball and Gourry snoring so loud that he sounded like a growling animal. 'It's amazing they can stay asleep with Gourry making so much noise.' Zelgadis mused with a smirk. It was then that Zelgadis noticed that Gourry's bag was hanging open somewhat, with the paper he had in it poking out enough to be seen. Gourry was sleeping clutching his bag as though it was a teddy bear. 'That's Gourry's story. Hmmm... I wonder.'

Being ever so careful Zelgadis fished Gourry's story out from the bag. He thought he woke Gourry up, but Gourry just mumbled and went back to snoring.

Sitting back down in his spot Zelgadis casted a very small light spell and did a quick once over of Gourry's story. Zelgadis had expected that the story would be written with poor penmanship and be unreadable. But that wasn't the case. Gourry took care when he wrote the story, it was very clear. Sure there were misspelt words here and there and the grammar wasn't always correct but it was easy to read.

Doing a once over of the story Zelgadis realized that Gourry had based the characters on all of them. Zelgadis, Amelia, Lina, Sylphiel, Filia, Xellos and Gourry, all were present in the story. 'He wrote a fairy tale using us as the characters?' Zelgadis found this amusing. 'Looks like Gourry made himself the hero of the story... I guess that's not surprising. And Xellos is the bad guy also not a surprise. But Sylphiel as the damsel in distress? I might as well read it, I'm bored anyway.'

And with that Zelgadis started to read.

...

Once upon a time in a kingdom far far away lived a beautiful princess. Her raven hair was long and silky and her eyes were greener than any forest. Princess Sylphiel was more beautiful than any princess born into the known world. And she wasn't just beautiful she was gentle and kind. She had bewitched the hearts of many including an evil monster king named Xellos.

Xellos the monster king couldn't contain his desire for the raven haired princes. He would have her, he would make her his.

Princess Sylphiel brushed her hair staring at her mirror as she prepared for bed. Though beautiful Princess Sylphiel was sad. She was very lonely. Her mother had died when she was very young and her father had just passed a year ago from a heart attack. Princess Sylphiel was the last one left of the royal family of Siaraag. Though she had many servants and subjects Princess Sylphiel missed her parents dearly.

"Princess Sylphiel." A voice called from outside the princess' door. "Might I come in?"

"Yes Sir Zelgadis, you may enter." Sylphiel got up from her vanity to face her visitor. "Is there something a matter?"

"Princess Sylphiel before your father died he requested that I look after you. He insisted that I make sure you continued on with your life without him here. And that life should include finding a suitor for you to marry so they you may become a queen." Sir Zelgadis crossed his arms across his chest. His voice was firm as was his expression. Though Sir Zelgadis seemed to be unfriendly and stoic, it was really that he wasn't good with expressing himself. He always wanted what was best for someone.

Princess Sylphiel rolled her eyes and sat herself back down. "Again with this talk Sir Zelgadis?"

"There are many princes in neighbouring kingdoms that you could marry. But you refuse to even see one of them! How are you to choose someone if you don't try?"

"Why does it have to be so soon?" Princess Sylphiel sighed.

"You don't have to marry right away. But at least you should meet with some of the princes." Sir Zelgadis chided.

"Why bother with a prince when you can have a king?" A shadowy mass spoke as it appeared in the room. The shadows gathered in the form of a man with dark purple hair and sinister purple eyes. He was dressed in dark armour embellished with dark purple jewels. He stood grinning at Princess Sylphiel.

Sir Zelgadis readied his sword and rushed at the intruder. But it was vain as Sir Zelgadis was sent flying against the wall with a dark ball of crackling energy.

"Xellos king of the Monsters." Princess Sylphiel stood showing no fear. "Why are you here? What do you want?"

"Why you of course. I wish to have your kingdom, your riches and your heart my dear. Marry me." He knelt before her and took her hand.

Princess Sylphiel snatched her hand from King Xellos'. "I will never marry you. Not now, not ever! You are evil and you bring misery to the lands!"

"Oh how I wished you wouldn't make me do this the hard way." King Xellos sent a current of energy through Princess Sylphiel and made her pass out. He picked her up in his arms and phased out of the room.

...

Princess Amelia walked through the halls of Siaraag's castle with her knight captain and head priestess. She was in search of Princess Sylphiel. Princess Amelia was visiting from her kingdom of Sailune. Since King Eruk of Siaraag's passing Princess Amelia had made a point to visit her friend every so often to make sure that she was okay. This was one such visit.

"Princess Sylphiel?" Princess Amelia knocked on her friend's door. "Are you there?" No one answered, but a male groan alerted Princess Amelia's ears. She stormed into the room and found Sir Zelgadis slumped against the ground just coming to. "Sir Zelgadis what happened?" Princess Amelia casted a healing spell on the knight captain of Siaraag.

"A monster was here." Head Priestess of Sailune Filia announced.

"Are you sure?" Lady Lina, Knight Captain of Sailune asked.

"I would know the stench of a monster anywhere." Priestess Filia shuddered in disgust.

"He took her." Sir Zelgadis groaned out.

"Who Sir Zelgadis? Who took who?"

"Xellos King of monsters. He took Princess Sylphiel."

The three ladies of Sailune gasped. "What are we going to do? We cannot stop the monster king!" Princess Amelia exclaimed. "Can we?"

"Not without the holy light of Atlas. Only that light can slay a beast such as a monster." Sir Zelgadis announced.

"The holy light of Atlas belongs to its royal family. The current bearer is their second crown Prince, Prince Gourry the brave. But no one has seen Prince Gourry for months!" Lady Lina protested. "Not since he went to slay the beast Zanifar."

"Well then I guess we'll just have to find him then. Where was this beast supposed to be?" Sir Zelgadis got his feet and sheathed his sword.

...

Somewhere between the kingdoms of Atlas and Siaraag, Prince Gourry sat by a roaring fire as he ate roasted boar meat. He had slain the beast Zanifar that was terrorizing the land and was now camping out under the stars. The battle had been a long one. It took Prince Gourry a month just to track down the beast, but it kept fleeing every time Prince Gourry got near. Eventually Prince Gourry was victorious and to celebrate he stuffed his face full of food. He liked camping under the stars but he wished he could be home and sleeping in his bed. But as it was he was closer to Siaraag then Atlas so it was going to be a long trek home for him. 'Maybe I could go to Siaraag tomorrow instead. Dad keeps telling me that I need to go and meet some princesses. Maybe the princess of Siaraag would like me. She's supposed to be very kind.' Prince Gourry smiled at that thought as he finished his meal. Being the second crown prince of Atlas Kingdom, Prince Gourry wasn't first in line to rule the kingdom. So that meant if he was to be a king he would need to find a princess to marry and rule her kingdom with. The first crown Princess of Sailune was supposedly engaged already and the second was far too young for Prince Gourry. And even if she wasn't he still wouldn't have a kingdom to rule. As Princess Amelia's older sister would be the future Queen of Sailune. But Prince Gourry had yet to meet Princess Sylphiel, whom was going to be queen of her kingdom. She would need a king.

'Wouldn't that be nice? I come home to Atlas with the glory of slaying a fearsome beast and the affections of a fair princess. Yeah, Siaraag it is.' Prince Gourry thought as he drifted off into sleep.

...

Princess Amelia, Priestess Filia, Lady Lina and Sir Zelgadis all rode in hopes of finding Prince Gourry and the holy light of Atlas. They rode all night and into the early morning desperately searching.

Meanwhile Prince Gourry was on his horse heading in the direction of Siaraag. He was going so fast that he almost crashed his horse into Lady Lina's.

Lady Lina's horse was well spooked and she was thrown clear off it. If it weren't for the quick movements of Sir Zelgadis she would have hit the ground hard. Lady Lina held onto Sir Zelgadis as he helped her on his horse. "Okay buster you'd better explain yourself! Because you almost killed me!" She tried to scream and look vicious but instead she sounded flustered as she blushed from being caught by Sir Zelgadis.

"I'm sorry my good sir, I didn't mean to spook your horse." Prince Gourry apologized.

"Sir?! SIR?! I'm a LADY YOU JELLYFISH BRAINED IDIOT!" Lady Lina screeched.

"You don't act like a lady." Prince Gourry mused. "But if you'll excuse me I'm on my way to Siaraag to meet Princess Sylphiel."

"Are you Prince Gourry?" Princess Amelia asked hopefully. She had only met Prince Gourry once, and all that she could remember was that he was tall with blond hair.

"Why yes I am."

"Thank goodness! We've been searching for you! Princess Sylphiel has been kidnapped and you're the only one that can save her!"

...

Zelgadis stopped reading and noticed that the time had run out of the hourglass. It was time to wake Lina and go to bed. He looked longingly at the story Gourry had written and debated on just reading more and waking Lina later. The story was quite good. And it made Zelgadis wonder why Gourry chose Sylphiel to be his leading lady in the story. He had expected Gourry to have Lina be his main character's love interest. As that saying goes, the writing says more about the insight of the writer rather than of the subject of the story.

'Perhaps Gourry has a deep hidden affection for Sylphiel, and not Lina.' Zelgadis mused with a laugh. Gourry had actually done Lina's character pretty well even going as far as having her insult the blond haired swordsmen. Zelgadis was also a little confused/interested in that part about Lady Lina and Sir Zelgadis. Zelgadis wondered if Gourry had paired him up with Lina in the story or if that little bit with the horse was it for the story. 'He probably just had that one bit. I doubt Gourry would want to pair me up with Lina.'

The allure to keep reading was very strong. 'I could just read through till the end of the second watch and wake Lina then. She could take the last watch and let Amelia sleep and we wouldn't have to deal with Amelia's whining about being tired.' He rationalized. But then the voice in the back of his head reminded him that since the previous night's ransacking they were out of coffee and tea. Nor did they have money to buy any. 'Okay then I'll wait till tomorrow night.' Zelgadis rolled back up the story and slipped it back into Gourry's bag before trying to accomplish the dangerous task of waking Lina.


	3. Chapter 3

**First Watch**

Part Three

By Relm

The next day found Lina and company hunting down bandits that were terrorizing the city. They had been promised to be paid if they got rid of them. Plus bandits being bandits meant that Lina could take their loot too. Except somehow someone must have given the bandits a warning because they were nowhere to be seen.

"I should have gotten the money upfront." Lina stomped her foot. After spending the whole day searching they did find the bandits' camp. But it was empty. The bandits had packed up and left.

"There's no way they would have given you the money first Lina. They would be taking a big risk if they did that." Zelgadis rationalized. "They could pay you and you could have taken the money and run."

"Well my reputation should prove I'm trust worthy."

"It just proves you're destructive."

"Bleh, we'll I'm taking a big risk too you know. Why I could do the job and they could refuse to pay me."

"Not really because you were going to go after the bandits for their money anyway. These are probably the same bandits that stole from us the other nights."

Mentioning that renewed Lina's anger toward Gourry and she glared at him.

Gourry didn't notice/care, he just looked around the bandit camp to see if there was any food left behind.

"What do you want to do Lina? Continue tracking or stop and make camp? It's going to be dark soon." Zelgadis surmised looking up into the sky.

"Let's make camp here, since it's already been made anyways. And maybe we'll get lucky and the bandits will come back. Then we could beat them up!" Lina said cheerily thinking of all the gold and treasure she could steal.

"Okay I volunteer for first watch!" Zelgadis said immediately. Since started to read Gourry's story the previous night he was eager to finish it.

"Do I have to take a watch?" Amelia whined. "I'm so tired!"

Lina rolled her eyes. "Zel and I have to do it all the time and we don't complain. So suck it up princess, because I'm not letting that jellyfish fall asleep on a watch and get us ransacked again!"

"But we don't have anything left to steal but food!" Amelia whined some more.

"Because you're whining so much you're getting the second watch!" Lina threatened the little princess.

Amelia grumbled.

...

The moment Zelgadis was sure everyone was asleep he tip toed over to Gourry to take the story. This night proved to be harder to get the rolled up pieces of paper. Gourry kept moving in his sleep. But Zelgadis was a patient man and he managed to finally get the papers from the slumbering swordsmen.

"Ha!' Zelgadis said softly in triumphant. "Now where was I?"

...

Two royal knights, a princess, a priestess and a prince all rode towards to the dark kingdom of the monster king. The closer they approached to the dark castle the more they saw that the dark kingdom was very true to its name. No matter how brightly the sun shined no light could penetrate the castle walls. A shroud of darkness cloaked the castle as if light itself had forsaken it. It was also cold, so very cold that it made everyone's teeth chatter the closer they got to the castle.

"Why's it so cold?" Prince Gourry mumbled while trying best not to succumb to shivering.

"It is the power of the Monster King." Priestess Filia started to explain. "His heart is cold, twisted and full of evil. So much so that he poisons the land around him into his cold darkness."

'Maybe he's just lonely?' Prince Gourry wondered. But he didn't dwell on it long. The fiend had taken the fair Princess Sylphiel there into the dark. And a beautiful light such as Princess Sylphiel shouldn't be enveloped in such darkness.

As they got nearer to the castle they could see the darkness. It was so dark and thick that they could not see through it.

"How do we get in?" Prince Gourry tested the darkness. It felt like a terribly cold sponge. He could push forward into it but not through it. It pushed his hand back.

"The legend says that the light of Atlas can cut through any darkness." Lady Lina mused as she tried to cut the darkness with her own sword. Whatever slices she made in the darkness reformed once she pulled back her blade. No ordinary sword would cut through the darkness that's for sure.

Prince Gourry pulled out his kingdom's nation treasure, the holly light of atlas. It was a sword hilt with no blade.

"Where is the blade to that sword?" Princess Amelia questioned. She had only heard stories about the fabled light of atlas, she had never seen it. Some even wondered if the light was a myth and not a true tale at all.

"Right here. Light come forth!" Prince Gourry commanded and a brilliant blade of pure light emerged from the hilt. "Stand back everyone!" Prince Gourry commanded. He stared down the wall of darkness before him. Gourry quick slashes and a path was cleared into the castle.

"Now to venture forward into the belly of the beast." Sir Zelgadis commented as they proceeded into the dark kingdom.

...

King Xellos smiled as he brought Princess Sylphiel her breakfast.

Princess Sylphiel wasn't locked up in a dungeon, but a lavish bedroom filled with anything a person would want. But as lovely as the room was Princess Sylphiel could not enjoy it. She was taken against her will and her leg was chained to the bed with a long dark chain.

"Good morning!" King Xellos said cheerily as he brought in a tray of food. "I hope you slept well."

"I'd sleep much better if you freed me of this chain." Princess Sylphiel tugged on the chain to prove her point. It was a very long chain that allowed her to go anywhere in the room except out of the door.

"But if I take that chain from you what's stopping you from leaving? If you married me then I would free you."

Princess Sylphiel shook her head. "No I'll never marry you!" She declared.

"Then you'll stay chained until you do agree to marry me. Eat your breakfast before it gets cold." He put the tray down and left, leaving Princess Sylphiel alone once again.

In the halls King Xellos felt the wave of power that disrupted his shield of darkness. It made him smile in amusement. "So they think they can come in and steal my princess away from me? Fools." He phased out and appeared in the great hall of his castle, the throne room. Which was exactly where the band of heroes were heading.

...

"Where is this monster?" Prince Gourry looked around as they cautiously trekked the halls of the massive castle entering two very large doors.

"Why right here of course!" King Xellos greet them sitting on his throne. He rose to stand before the heroes. "It's been so long since I've had uninvited guests. And it is very rude to arrive announced." He waved a scolding finger at them.

"It's also rude to kidnap people you piece of raw garbage!" Priestess Filia sneered.

"Raw garbage?" King Xellos' left eye twitched. He stared down the priestess but the woman just glared right back. "You dare call me such a name?!"

"I call you what you are!" Priestess Filia brandished her mace, an odd weapon for a woman of the cloth to be wielding.

King Xellos wanted to be very angry but he couldn't help but be a bit amused by this priestess. 'That one has fire.' He mentally mused. "You mean to harm me with that?" The smile on King Xellos' mouth was a mischievous one. "Such a blunt weapon for such a holy woman."

"It won't seem so blunt when I crack it over your head." Priestess Filia threatened.

"You couldn't even get close enough to touch me! Unless you choose to use your feminine wiles on me. I have a weakness for sure fair beauty." He winked at her.

Priestess Filia's face turned every shade of red a person could turn. Rage paired with embarrassment as Priestess Filia screamed out her frustrations. "I would never try to charm an evil creature such as you!"

"Why my dear you already have." Kina Xellos responded.

Prince Gourry, Princess Amelia, Sir Zelgadis and Lady Lina looked on in wonder. Priestess Filia and King Xellos may as well have been the only two people in the room. The duelling pair ignored everyone else.

"Maybe you should try and sneak away to find Princess Sylphiel." Sir Zelgadis whispered.

Prince Gourry nodded and very quietly exited the room.

Once he was sure he was far enough away not be heard Prince Gourry ran. Since prisoners were usually kept in dungeons that was the first place Prince Gourry checked. But alas the only prisoners Prince Gourry fond lacked the flesh on their bones. 'Where is she?'

Prince Gourry did the only thing he could, check every room he came across hoping to find the imprisoned princess.

Room after room he checked. Each room he checked was empty and he was about to give up and go back to challenge the King Xellos when he heard a song softly drifting down the hall. It was sung so soft and sweet with a voice of an angel. As beautiful as the voice and the song was Prince Gourry heard the sadness that laced it.

'That must be her!' Prince Gourry ran to the door the song was coming from and opened it. "Princess Sylphiel?" He called out wheezing and out of breath.

Princess Sylphiel stood before Prince Gourry with confusion on her face. "Who are you?"

Prince Gourry had been breathless upon arriving into the room, but now he was breathless for a completely different reason. He remembered what he had been told in the past about Princess Sylphiel. She was kind, sweet and gentle to everyone she met. And her beauty was supposed to be unparalleled. Princess Sylphiel was so shockingly beautiful that Prince Gourry forgot how to speak.

"Sir?" Princess Sylphiel prompted while blushing. The man before he was very handsome. And Princess Sylphiel didn't know what to make of him. His gaze on her was so strong.

"Um... sorry! I'm Gourry, second crown prince of Atlas kingdom." He introduced himself. "I've come to rescue you."

"Oh my, how wonderful! But these chains... I doubt a normal sword could cut them. And I don't know where the key is." Princess Sylphiel worried.

"Don't you worry!" Prince Gourry once again unsheathed his sword. "Light come forth!" With his sword of light he slashed the chains freeing Princess Sylphiel.

"Wow..." was all that Princess Sylphiel could say.

"We'd better go before King Xellos realize what's going on."

Prince Gourry and Princess Sylphiel ran through the halls of the castle blindly. Princess Sylphiel was lost because King Xellos had teleported her straight into the room she was being held in. And Prince Gourry was lost because he couldn't remember which way he came.

"How did you know to come rescue me?" Princess Sylphiel asked in between shallow breaths. "Word couldn't have gone out that fast of my kidnapping."

"I had just finished slaying the demon beast Zanifar and I was close to your kingdom. My parents keep telling me I need to find a princess to marry so I can become a King. So I decided to head to Siaraag and I met up with your royal knight, Princess Amelia of Sailune, her royal knight and Priestess. They were on their way to find me to rescue you."

"They're all here? Where are they?"

"In the throne room keeping King Xellos busy."

"How?"

"That Priestess... I think King Xellos likes her." It was then that Prince Gourry noticed something odd. The constant chill that he had been feeling the whole time he was in the castle was starting to fade. 'Is it me or has it gotten warmer in here?'

...

"I'm surprised you would flirt with me so when you've already kidnapped a princess to marry. Seems like you're cheating on your future queen." Priestess Filia spat out.

"Hmm... I suppose what I'm doing is in poor taste. Perhaps I could have the two of you compete for my affections. I wonder would win?" He winked at her suggestively.

"Argh!" Priestess Filia screamed. "The only thing I would compete for is the chance to beat you to death!" She was so flustered and upset that her dragon tail popped up from under her skirt.

"You keep threatening to harm me but you fail to do so. Could it be you just can't bear to harm me? Have your feelings already grown so strong?" King Xellos smiled; he was enjoying the banter far too much. So much that he wasn't aware of his darkened lonely heart being warmed and his darkened shield was waning.

As Priestess Filia was about to really march up to King Xellos and beat the crap out of him the doors flew open with Princess Sylphiel and Prince Gourry running through them.

King Xellos' attention shifted from Priestess Filia to the new arrivals to the room. "Cleaver plan, distract me and save the princess." The monster king held out his hand and a sword of pure darkness appeared.

Prince Gourry readied his own sword. "Light come forth!" The light of Atlas appeared and the swordsmen prince stood ready.

"The holy light of Atlas. I wonder how it will stand up to my darkness?" King Xellos went flying forward for a lunge attack at Prince Gourry.

Prince Gourry blocked and shoved back the monster king.

Sparks flew as the two blades met. Both men grunted as they furiously attacked one another. No matter how skilled one was the other was a match. Each strike was blocked, showing that this was going to be a battle of strength and endurance.

Princess Sylphiel stood behind her royal knight watching in fear. With each quick strike by King Xellos, Princess Sylphiel felt her stomach lurch. Each time it looked like the monster king was going to land a solid attack but each time Prince Gourry managed to block.

"Give it up, you're never going to win." King Xellos taunted the prince.

"Of course I'll win. Because I won't let you keep a beautiful princess locked up here in your darkness. Especially Princess Sylphiel!" Prince Gourry screamed as he slashed at King Xellos' sword with all his might. The light of Atlas cut through the blade of darkness. "I command you to yield!" Prince Gourry held his sword at King Xellos' neck.

King Xellos smirked evilly as he phased out of the room leaving everyone standing in paranoia.

"Where did he go?" Prince Gourry looked around frantically as did everyone else.

King Xellos appeared behind Princess Sylphiel holding a knife to her neck.

"Prince Gourry!" Princess Sylphiel screamed in terror while trembling with fear.

"Crying out for your precious prince? You can't have fallen for him already?" King Xellos protested.

Prince Gourry pointed his sword in King Xellos' direction. "Let Princess Sylphiel go and I'll spare your life." Prince Gourry threatened.

"You can't harm me without harming her! Unless you want your precious princess to lose her head." King Xellos laughed. He was quite enjoying all the misery he was causing.

With King Xellos distracted Priestess Filia took her chance to give the monster king that beating she promised. She crept up being him and smacked him god and hard on the back of his head with her mace.

King Xellos shocked by the blow stumbled dropping the knife and his grip on Princess Sylphiel.

Princes Sylphiel ran into the safety of Prince Gourry's arms.

Prince Gourry held her tight and close as he brought his sword of light to the monster king's throat.

King Xellos hissed as the blade of light touched his skin.

"King Xellos you will not bother Princess Sylphiel ever again. As I will be protecting her from now on." Prince Gourry announced. "If you do I will slice off your head."

...

Months later the kingdom of Atlas got strange news. Their second crown prince was going to be staying in the kingdom of Siaraag most indefinitely.

The King and Queen didn't know what to make of this news. Was their second son to be married? Or was their another reason?

...

Prince Gourry mumbled happily as he ate another slice of pie while he sat in the Siaraag dining hall. He had been in the Princess Sylphiel's kingdom the whole time since he had rescued the princess from the clutches of the evil monster king. He had stated that he was going to stay in Siaraag to keep Princess Sylphiel safe, but that wasn't the real reason. He had been enamoured with the gentle Princess since he met her. And staying in the castle with her just those few months solidified those feelings. The longer he stayed the more entranced he became. Princess Sylphiel had casted a spell on him it seemed. And the fact that she kept feeding him her baked goods was bonus to the situation. Prince Gourry did love food after all.

"Really Prince Gourry you don't have to finish everything I make." Princess Sylphiel giggled. She liked to cook and bake but never really considered herself good. She didn't feel her cooking was good enough but each time she tried Prince Gourry was more than happy to eat her creations.

"Your food is so good! It's so good that I can't stop eating!" Prince Gourry exclaimed.

"Thank you." Princess Sylphiel blushed. Those past few months it seemed that Princess Sylphiel's face was always red. More so when Prince Gourry was around. She herself couldn't help but feel charmed every time she was around the innocent prince. He was goofy, honest and took so much joy out of simple things. His constant positive attitude uplifted Princess Sylphiel. For the first time since before her father died Princess Sylphiel had a reason to smile. But still she felt guilty. "Prince Gourry..." Princess Sylphiel started off saying.

"Hmm?" Prince Gourry stopped mid chew to look her in the face.

"You know you needn't stay here this long. It's been months and King Xellos hasn't shown his face. I doubt he's a threat anymore. He's not going to come after me." Princess Sylphiel couldn't look the blond prince in the eyes. Her gaze was low and fixated on the pattern of the tablecloth.

Prince Gourry swallowed what he had in his mouth and thought very hard for a moment. "I don't want to leave and have something bad happen to you."

"But I don't want to be the reason you can't become a king! Your parents want you meet a princess to marry. I don't want to be the one keeping you from finding that special woman you will end up marrying. I have many knights to protect me. How are you going to find that princess you'll want to marry being stuck protecting me?" Tears threatened to spill from Princess Sylphiel's emerald eyes as she dared to look at him. She didn't really want him to leave. But she didn't want to be the one keeping him from fulfilling his destiny.

"But you're here... You're a princess. A nice beautiful, kind one. Why would I want to meet anyone else? Couldn't I just marry you?" He looked at her with his eyes full of hope.

"But we barely know each other!" Princess Sylphiel blushed far redder then she had ever before.

"Can't I have the chance to get to know you? Would you at least stay for that? I really don't want to leave you... You make me feel... like nothing I've ever felt before." Prince Gourry admitted taking her hands in his.

"Okay." Princess Sylphiel said bashfully. She tried to look away again but Prince Gourry pulled her forward. Her eyes were wide in shock as he captured her lips with his own.

Though the pie had been wonderful the taste of Princess Sylphiel's lips was a far better desert to Prince Gourry. He was in heaven.

...

Priestess Filia let out a deep bored sigh as she looked out to the streets of Sailune from one of the castle towers. Since Princess Sylphiel now had Prince Gourry, Princess Amelia didn't feel the need to visit Siaraag so often. The regular outings to Siaraag was one of the few escapes from Priestess Filia's otherwise boring and repetitious life in Sailune. Sailune was too much of a peaceful kingdom, things rarely happened. And usually when they did it was the doings of Lady Lina.

But even then Priestess Filia didn't have Lady Lina to keep things interesting. Even though Prince Gourry decided to stay in Siaraag to keep Princess Sylphiel safe, Lady Lina also decided to stay there too. She told everyone it was just in case King Xellos came back. But the rumour was that Lady Lina had gotten a bit too friendly with Sir Zelgadis and the pair wanted to pursue their secret affair.

Priestess Filia was about to turn around and head to the throne room when she bumped straight into someone standing behind her. "Oh I'm sorry!" Priestess Filia bowed her head. "I didn't realize there was anyone behind me, I wasn't looking where I was going." She apologized.

"You can make it up to me by joining me for dinner." The person Priest Filia had bumped into purred in a sultry voice.

Priestess Filia's head snapped back up and was horrified to see that it was Xellos, king of the Monsters standing before her. "Why you!" Priestess Filia swung her mace right at King Xellos' head.

King Xellos laughed as he avoided the attack. "I do love that spitfire of yours my dear."

"Why the hell are you here?!" She demanded while attempting to hit him again.

"Well I've been forbidden to go after Princess Sylphiel so you will not have to fight for my affections. They are yours and I will not leave your side until you agree to marry me and be my Queen."

...

It had been such a calm beautiful day in Sailune. That was until a large golden dragon flew over the kingdom while trying to kill a pesky monster.

The End.

...

Zelgadis couldn't help but smile at the end of the story. He had expected that Prince Gourry would get the girl in the end but he didn't see the King Xellos/Priestess Filia ending coming.

'Deep down I wonder if Gourry has feelings for Sylphiel and not Lina. He pared me up with Lina.' Zelgadis spied a look at the slumbering sorceress while blushing slightly. Lina was asleep and curled up into a ball like a cat. She smiled in her blissful sleep. 'Does he think Lina and I would be better together?' As Zelgadis thought that thought he immediately shook it out of his mind. 'No there has to be another reason Gourry would do that. I'll ask him tomorrow.'

...

Zelgadis found his opportunity to talk to Gourry in the morning. Then men had been sent to gather firewood so that breakfast could be cooked.

"Gourry can I talk to you about something?" Zelgadis asked while inspecting a piece of wood.

"Sure Zel what's up?" Gourry sat himself down by a lake and drank some water.

Zelgadis sat down next to his blond haired friend and thought about how he was going to phrase his questions. "These past few nights... I've been reading your story." He admitted.

Right away alarm bells went off in Gourry's head and he checked frantically in his bad for his literary treasure. Seeing it safe and sound he let out a sigh of relief. "Why were you reading it?"

"I was bored a couple nights ago. Thought I could pass the time by reading."

"Oh. Did you like it?"

"Yeah I did." Zelgadis paused for a moment. "But I have to ask you, why did you make Sylphiel the princess in distress and not Lina?"

Gourry tapped in his chin in thought as he tried to remember the reasoning for casting who he cast as who. "Well Lina wouldn't need a prince to come save her." He explained.

At that moment Zelgadis felt foolish. Of course there was another reason. "So Sylphiel was a more logical choice."

"Sylphiel is more delicate and gentle. She'd make a better princess than Lina." Gourry smiled while thinking about the emerald eyed shrine maiden.

Zelgadis noticed the dreamy smile on Gourry's face and assumed the swordsman was thinking about Sylphiel's cooking. "Okay. So then why did you make yourself the prince that saved her?"

"Well I couldn't have Sylphiel end up with anyone else!" Gourry's face crinkled into a degusted frown.

"You don't like the idea of Sylphiel being with another man?" Zelgadis now was confused.

"Of course not!" Gourry answered as though it was the most logical conclusion to come to.

"But in your story you paired Lina up with me. Are you okay with Lina being with another man?"

"Well you like Lina."

Zelgadis just stared at him slack jawed. 'How did he figure that out?!' "I'm not sure what you're talking about... But tell me Gourry do you like Sylphiel?"

Gourry's face turned a bit grim. "Sylphiel deserves a good man who isn't as dumb as a brick."

"If you do like her, then why haven't you told her Gourry?"

"She's sweet, kind and gentle. Beautiful, polite and a wonderful cook. What the heck would she see in a dumb forgetful swordsmen like me?"

Zelgadis couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You can't be serious. Sylphiel is in love with you."

Gourry shook his head. "Nah, she couldn't. There's no way she's in love with me." He insisted.

"If you feel so strongly for Sylphiel why do you stay with Lina?"

"I promised to be Lina's guardian. I'm supposed to protect her."

"You love Lina?" Zelgadis dared asked the most important question.

"I guess I'm supposed to." Gourry admitted. "I thought I did."

"But you don't feel for Lina like you feel for Sylphiel?"

Gourry sighed. "I want to protect Lina. But... I miss Sylphiel."

"Then maybe we should go to New Siaraag and see if Sylphiel wants to join us. Then you can be with her while still protecting Lina." Zelgadis suggested.

"That's a great idea!" Gourry beamed.

"Maybe you can tell her how you feel about her."

Gourry looked at Zelgadis. "Why would I do something like that?"

"Because if you care that much about someone you should tell them." Zelgadis stated matter-of-factly.

"Then you should tell Lina you like her." Gourry shot back.

"WHAT THE HELL IS TAKING SO LONG TO GET THE WOOD?!" Lina screamed over at camp.

Gourry and Zelgadis quickly gathered up the wood they had.

"Why do you like Lina for?" Gourry questioned Zelgadis.

"Shut up Gourry." Zelgadis muttered while blushing.

_The End. _


End file.
